"Growing Smarter" legislation passed in November requires cities and towns greater than 10,000, as well as fast-growing cities as small as 2,500 residents, to get voter approval on their general plans. Most cities are expected to take their existing general plans, get public input on them, redraft the plans, get city council approval and then put it on the ballot. Arizona is the first state in the nation to require voter approval of general plans.

The "Growing Smarter" legislation requires cities to address several issues, including: transportation and land use, open space, cost of development, growth area, environmental planning and water. Under the legislation, once a general plan is adopted it will be harder to change.

The state's largest cities, those with more than 75,000 residents, have until the end of the year to adopt a new plan, while smaller cities have until the end of 2002. Residents in Pinetop-Lakeside, a small community in north Arizona, will vote on their plan March 13, the first city in the state to do so. Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix, will vote on the issue on May 15.

In Phoenix, the general plan must tackle sensitive issues such as how the city can reduce air pollution, energy costs and toxic waste. The city must also address the cost of development and what kind of "impact fees" the city is charging developers. A draft of the plan should be ready to present to the public in mid-March and then go to the city council for approval in July, with an election likely in November or December.